Perhaps that's why the offer of $1.5 billion in aid was "peanuts," and thus offensive: how can you carry out some quality graft with that little to work with?
"Billions of U.S. aid to Pakistan diverted, India concerned," by Kevin Jess for Digital Journal, October 5 (thanks to Alert):
Only a fraction of the $6.6 billion in U.S. aid sent to Pakistan between 2002 and 2008, meant for the war on terror, has actually reached Pakistan's military, and it has India worried about how the money may have been spent.
According to a report by Associated Press, two army generals are saying that only $500 million of U.S. aid has actually made it to where it was intended, to help the Pakistan military fight the war on terror.
There were American government suspicions about where the money might have been spent. It was suspected that Musharraf, who was chief of staff and president of Pakistan at the time may have diverted the money to the domestic economy, and many other causes including fighting India, and to boost his sagging image by providing economic subsidies, says the AP report.
In an interview with Associated Press, retired General Mahmud Durrani said, "The army itself got very little. It went to things like subsidies, which is why everything looked hunky-dory. The military was financing the war on terror out of its own budget."
Other generals and government ministers are telling the same story and feel that it helped al-Qaida, which was virtually dismantled in 2001, rejuvenate and be able to take on a weakened Pakistani force.
The aid money is paid from the Coalition Support Fund, which was created to reimburse allies for money spent on the war on terror.
By 2008, Pakistan had received $8.6 billion in military aid from the fund making the nation the largest recipient in the coalition. To date they have received approximately $12 billion and they are about to get more.
Last week, in a move causing new concerns for India, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to triple Pakistan's non-military aid from $500 million to $1.5 billion per year until 2014, reports The Times of India.
The announcement was made by President Barrack Obama at a meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan at the United Nations headquarters in New York, says the report.
India's foreign minister S M Krishna said in a Times of India interview that his country was concerned about the vote in the U.S. Senate as "Islamabad had in the past diverted American aid to bolster its defences against India."
The report also quoted Krishna as saying, "Consider the statement that has been issued by the former president of Pakistan Musharraf himself where he has said that the aid provided to Pakistan by the US has been used for directing its hostile operations against India."
He said, "India's concern is only that aid has to be appropriated for the purpose for which it is provided by the United States."
Pakistan is obviously having a ball while the West dabbles in the war hopelessly befuddled, half hearted and apologetic. This has so far been such a booty rich war with zero risk and no accountability for it, that Pakistan undoubtedly wishes it never ends.
At the same time the Indian leadership continues with its hallowed tradition of muddled thinking. According to the report, India's foreign minister S M Krishna said: "Islamabad had in the past diverted American aid to bolster its defences against India." Defences? He has to be the dimmest one around if he can say this seriously despite all the harrowing regular evidence in India that Pakistan has been launching and financing OFFENSIVE covert operations against India and using the American Taxpayers hard earned dollars to bolster its OFFENSIVE capability.
My tax money is going to good use. I see we have some very brilliant Senators and Congressman to which I have entrusted my hard earned tax money. I am appalled that my money is going to a Islamic country that has continued to persecute and kill non Muslims. A country that has and continues to harbor terrorists and train Islamic Jihadis. A country that lets in foreign born Muslims and then trains them with terror tactics, so that they can return to their host countries and kill non Muslims. A country that sent Islamic Jihadi in to India and mass murdered thousands of people from the Mumbai bombings to the attack on the Indian parliament. This country has killed millions of people and will do so because that is why it was created to continue the Islamic Jihad against Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Jews and other non Muslims.
"The announcement was made by President Barrack Obama at a meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan at the United Nations headquarters in New York..."
The "Friends of Democratic Pakistan"...!? What is that -- like the "Society for Unicorns, Fairies & Leprechauns"?
I very much doubt the truth of the assertion that very little of the money has reached the military. Of the 18 Pakistani $ billionaires, 7 are ex-army officers.
Hesperado - Sort of like the "Flat Earth Society" or "Alternative Reality Club" or the "How Many Drugs Can We Take in the Next Hour Party"?
Another lying muslim country.Wow, what a suprise!!!!
What else is new
In all sincerity I believe that the 500 million figure is probably high. Knowing what I know and hear about Pakistan, It would be more believing to me if they said that the 500 million made it's way into the terrorist's hands.
Now let's just imagine if that $6.6 billion in jizya had, instead, been split between Israel and India; maybe half to two-thirds, in serious weaponry etc. to help them defend themselves against the Jihad; the rest, in carefully-targeted civilian R & D, giving lots of brilliant Jewish and Indian minds the time and resources to tackle such trifling challenges as, for example, clean safe renewable non-oil energy, and cheap substitutes for all those other things that are made out of oil; and finding and educating, to the max, more such minds?
I should imagine that the US would have reaped all kinds of rewards both in goodwill and in terms of financial returns on investment; and the world just might be a good deal safer.
at approximately 150 million 1040-1040A-1040EZ etc returns filed by individuals in 2008, and assuming that at least 1/4 of those returns are filed solely to claim refund to all witholding of tax or pay insignificant tax (note some statistics say 1/2 of all filers pay no income tax)
dividing the $1.5 billion by the total assumed returns that actually pay tax, one would conclude that, on average, every tax paying member of the public will contribute at least $15 to Pakistan. (note we all know that the tax system is "progressive" so if you are "rich" you are contributing a lot more to Pakistan that that average.) Based on the article about $2 will be used to fight the Taliban or Al Queda or Jihad and the $13 will be used for graft, corruption, and waging war on India, or even our own interests.
Unfortunately it appears that the bang for your tax paying buck may end up being a truck bomb, or end up being used against ourselves or our ally India.
The $6.6 billion is in addition to aid given to Pakistan by the EU. Britain also has its own aid budget which it sprays around the world like confetti and again includes Pakistan. So we in Britain have the privilege of paying twice, once through our EU contributions and again through our taxes.
Giving public money on this scale to foreign regimes without conditions or checking to see where the funds are spent is grossly irresponsible and very naive.